When we return to the crew’s sleeping quarters, we find Liv waiting for us on the edge of a bunk. She’s casually dressed in a green tee and gray sweats with her copper hair pulled back in a ponytail. Thea scans the cabin, then asks where Astrid and Ferro have gone.

“Cael took them to the control deck,” she says, crossing her arms to accentuate well-toned muscles. “Guess you broke the news about Gant’s latest broadcast. The Princess insisted on seeing it for herself.”

“I’d like to see it too,” I say, eyes lifting to hers. “Can you take us there?”

“Of course she will,” Thea answers from behind us.

“Actually…” Liv holds up a white towel, “I was about to take a shower. Can’t you take them?”

“Your shower can wait,” Thea answers coolly. “I need to report to the Core.”

The Core? Vin, Brenne and I exchange confused looks. What does that mean?

“The Core is our command structure, where all decisions are made,” Thea says simply. “I’ll explain this later. Right now, you should join your friends. You need to see what we’re up against.”

Liv shrugs and hops off the cot, landing with the stealth and agility of a cat. As we follow her in silence, I can’t help but think that’s the perfect metaphor for what she’s become: a sleek and graceful creature who hisses and claws at your face whenever you try to approach. What in flames happened to her?

“Hey, um, Liv?” I call after her.

When she pauses to glance over her shoulder, I babble something about never getting the chance to thank her for saving our lives in Washton.

“Damn straight,” Vin echoes. “That was a ballsy move, throwing yourself right into the middle of a Fox Hunt. You could’ve been tagged by one of the other groups.”

“Yeah, right.” Liv laughs – a light, musical sound that makes me think of the green-eyed girl on the beach. “And the weather in Washton could’ve been sunny and eighty degrees.”

When she strides ahead of us, Vin grins and gives me a nudge. “Beautiful and sassy. Now I get why you’ve been having all those dreams about her.”

I turn to whack his arm but Brenne beats me to it. “He-llo. Girlfriend here,” she sings. “Inappropriate.”

“You know I’ve got this thing for redheads,” Vin teases, pulling her into a hug. “But don’t worry. She’s got nothing on you, baby.”

I roll my eyes and pretend to retch, then jog ahead to give them some privacy. I find Liv waiting for me at the next bulkhead, hands resting on her hips.

“I was only following orders, so don’t bother thanking me,” she says as she bends to twist open a hatch. When I try to help her, she waves me off. “And for the record, bringing you Stalkers along for the ride definitely wasn’t my idea. I would’ve left you in Washton.”

“Then why didn’t you?” I snap.

Liv must be surprised by the sudden anger in my voice, because she looks up at me with a frown. I can’t tell from her expression whether she’s annoyed or impressed.

“I mean…” I shrug. “No one forced you to help us, right? So why did you?”

“Because I trust Thea’s judgment,” she answers without hesitation. “And I’d follow her into hellfire if that’s where she asked me to go.”

Interesting. Guess she doesn’t hate all Sifters.

I’m about to ask how Thea earned her loyalty when she opens the hatch with a loud hydraulic hiss and then ducks into the next cabin. I wait for Vin and Brenne to catch up before following her onto a sloping metal catwalk. The curved walls expand outward as we climb, revealing a two-tiered space. I count five of Kobari’s men manning instruments on the upper level. We must be entering the control deck where we met the Captain and his crew yesterday. Or was that only hours ago?

I check my time stamp to learn that it’s after midnight, York time. We’ve been aboard the subnaut for twelve hours.

Low voices murmur up ahead. We follow Liv toward them, ducking under ducts, pipes and bundled arrays of wiring until we reach a smaller side chamber. The dim lighting in here flashes intermittently, like a fluorescent bulb about to burn out.  I trace the source of the flickering to a vid screen mounted on the far wall. Four people sit watching it, their backs to us. Astrid, Ferro, Cael and Kobari.

“Here you are,” Liv announces with fake cheer. “Did we miss the show?”

Cael swivels around in his seat. “We were just about to watch it. Here… come closer.” He stands to make room for us. “The entire broadcast only runs ten minutes.”

We approach the screen, which goes dark for a few seconds before blinking back to life with the tri-colored symbol of Neoden: white Crystal, red Flame, black background. Cael turns up the audio until we hear the familiar opening chords of “Neoden Forever.”

After the Anthem has faded, the vid cuts to a shot of Cillian Gant. He’s standing behind the Prime Founder’s podium, flanked on both sides by the eight other members of the High Founder’s Council. Not surprisingly, Astrid’s father is missing. I recognize three of the faces: Chief Guardian Locke; Head Instructor Slate; and Ferro’s father, Chief Justice Rhone. I’m pretty sure Slate is new to the Council, which must mean he’s just been promoted to Chief Guardian. Doing the math, that would make Orwin Locke the new Prime Enforcer. But Ferro’s father… wasn’t he supposed to be one of Augustin Blake’s closest friends? What in flames is he doing standing next to Gant?

Astrid drops Ferro’s hand and turns to him, no doubt to ask this question, but her words are drowned out by the sound of Gant’s voice. Just hearing the evil bastard again churns my stomach.

“Fellow citizens of the Great Unity of Neoden,” he begins in a melodramatic voice. “I come to you now with a heavy heart. I wish I could spare you the pain of the truth, but that would be wrong. My people…” He holds out his hands, palms open. “We have been betrayed. We’ve been stabbed in the back by the very man who we loved and trusted above all others.”

As Gant lays out his case against Augustin Blake, Astrid absorbs his words in stunned silence, her eyes never leaving the screen. When he talks about the upcoming trial, she grips the sides of her chair like she’s bracing for a violent collision. Ferro wraps his arm around her but she doesn’t react. Doesn’t even look like she’s breathing.

This is how I felt when Gant forced me to witness the Pioneer kid’s incineration. When he made me watch as my sister writhed in agony.

When the screen fades to black, Ferro takes Astrid’s hand. “This is all false news. They must have altered the broadcast.”

“Yeah, right,” Liv fires back sarcastically. “Because we’ve got nothing better to do. Listen, Stalker: I know you’ve been brainwashed your whole life and all, or maybe you’re just plain stupid, but here’s a reality check: Gant is your enemy. We’re the ones who saved your necks… twice by my count.”

Astrid snorts. “You’d like us to believe that, wouldn’t you?”

“How many times do I have to tell you?” Liv answers through clenched teeth. “I don’t give a ripper’s ass what you believe, and if I had my way…” She turns to a grinning Kobari. “I’d ask the Captain over here to take us to the surface so you could swim your way home. And when you got there, guess what?”

Astrid glares at her, fists balled at her sides.

“Gant would throw your clueless ass in a cell with your dad and schedule a public father-daughter execution! He’d probably make the day a national holiday!”

I’m about to step between them but Cael beats me to it.

“Why don’t we take a break?” he suggests, placing his large hand on Astrid’s shoulder. I’m not sure who’s more shocked when she doesn’t pull away: Liv, Ferro or me. “I know this is a trying time for you,” he continues in a sympathetic voice. “Believe me, Miss Blake. We’ll try to help in any way we can.”

“You’re wasting your time,” Liv warns.

“No, I’m not.”  He meets her gaze, his tone patient but firm. “Thea predicted all this would happen. She’s led us this far, and if she believes we only stand a chance against Gant if we join forces with the Loyalists, then that’s good enough for me.”

Loyalists? What in flames and ashes? Is he talking about us?

For once, Liv seems to have no clever answer. After a few tense beats of silence, she mutters something about needing to take a shower before stalking off.

Astrid turns to Cael once Lily has gone. “Your intel sources… Do they know where Gant has taken my father? Is he in the Crypts beneath the Citadel?”

He glances at Thea before answering, “No. He’s being held in the island fortress of Scilla.”

“Scilla Rock?” Ferro scoffs. “You’re lying! Scilla’s in the bleeding Eastern Territory!”

“That’s right,” Thea says, turning to Astrid. “Gant plotted his coup well. Your father’s allies would have to cross the Great Sea to free him. But there’s a flaw in his plan.” She and Cael exchange a knowing look. “We have friends near Scilla. In fact, that’s where we’re going.” 

***

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